Pastor Rob Bell

Pastor Rob Bell is making waves in evangelical circles. He is even being accused of heresy, specifically evangelical heresy. In his book Love Wins , Bell asserts that God's love will triumph over sin, regardless of how grave the sin might be and even if a person does not repent and ask to be saved. That is an outrage to many evangelicals to whom God's wrath is a central tenet. Bell really hits a nerve when he asserts everyone will be saved. This is where he parts ways with most evangelical protestants. What is the point of having rules if there is no punishment for violating them? What is the point of Hell if no one is sent there?

Bell is no St. Augustine. He is a man with a Masters of Divinity degree who has founded his own church. He may draw thousands on Sunday, but that does not make him a theologian. Along side nearly two thousand years of Church history and exhaustive work on the part of real theologians, Bell posits his own interpretation of Christianity. In the free for all that has come to characterize modern protestantism, that is certainly his prerogative. In the religious circus that frequently makes up world of evangelical Christianity it is not surprising. The only check on evangelical heresy is the congregation. As long as people come in on Sunday and leave some money behind it really doesn't matter what the pastor preaches. Stature in the evangelical world is measured by congregants and donations, not orthodoxy.

Pastor Bell is not asking questions that have not already been asked. The questions of salvation, grace, sin, and repentance have been at the heart of Christianity since its founding. Many of the greatest minds in history have wrestled with the subject. Now Rob Bell, an evangelical pastor in Michigan, has weighed in. Bell argues that God's love can transcend sin. Of course it can. Outside of the fire and brimstone world of evangelical protestantism, that is not an issue. The issue is whether people want mercy, whether they are willing to humble themselves and admit they need it, and whether they are sincerely willing to ask for it.

I only want to know why people should care what Pastor Rob Bell thinks? Anyone can pick up a Bible and interpret it by their own lights. That is a major reason why for centuries the Church prohibited people from reading the Bible. Pastor Bell is no Martin Luther. He is an evangelical pastor from North Carolina. No one should live in fear of Bellism.